Do I Have Gluten Intolerance?

[elisa99]

Hi all,

 

I am new to this site. I am posting because I am confused about my gluten intolerance. I am 22 years old and have been gluten-free for a year. I have also been lactose intolerant since the 4th grade but I take lactaid pills when I consume dairy and they have always worked for me.

 

History: About two years ago I was blood tested for celiac disease and my results came back negative. My doctor said  was probably just experiencing IBS and he didn't truly believe in gluten intolerance. I didn't change my diet and continued to experience severe bloating and pain, gas, frequent headaches that at times were debilitating, and many bathroom issues. My bloating was so severe my stomach would descend and I would look very pregnant, and I am a thin girl. At times I would be constipated and others I had diarrhea. My bathroom issues were inconsistent but severe. After another year of suffering with my symptoms getting worse and worse I researched a gluten free diet and decided to try it. After one week of a strict gluten-free diet I saw major improvements in my bathroom issues and had no bloating or pain. I continued to be gluten-free for a year. During that year my headaches disappeared and going to the bathroom became easy. I would experience occasional bloating and pain (pregnant look) just like I used to get but I attributed that to cross contamination when I ate out or at a friends house.  

 

Currently: This past week I decided to reintroduce gluten in my diet because I am still curious if this is what I have or if it really is IBS/ why I experience occasional bloating and pain. I have had no symptoms this week since I reintroduced it and am VERY surprised!? Any suggestions / advice? Could I have healed my gut and villi and that is why I am not reacting?

 

Please help. Thank you!

 

-Elisa

[IrishHeart]

But, you would not have had villous blunting present with non celiac gluten sensitivity, so it's not really a question of your villi healing.

I do not really know why you don't have a recurrence of those symptoms you describe.

 

IMO, you would likely have some pretty obvious symptoms after a week on gluten if you were a celiac, but you may well notice symptoms erupting if you continue to eat gluten in the coming days and weeks.

 

If you got rid of all those symptoms off gluten, it sure sounds like gluten sensitivity of some kind.

I am not sure why you would even want to resume it once more, but I guess you have every right to see if it is actually a gluten intolerance or not--and I don't blame you one bit. 

 

Unfortunately, celiacs do not really have that luxury. I'd be a mess after one day.

 

If you continue to eat gluteny foods, you may wish to have the celiac panel done again. Just to make sure.

[elisa99]

Thank you for your response! Yes I'm quite confused as to why I don't have symptoms. I have continued to eat a little bit of gluten foods and have only noticed a change in my bowels. Nothing major though and no headaches, bloating or pain. I guess I should continue and see what happens. Very strange! And I almost feel like a liar now telling all my friends and family over this past year I'm gluten intolerant if I turn out not to be. It just seems odd that all my symptoms went away after adopting the gluten-free diet but now they didn't come back. Odd. Anyone else with suggestions please let me know!

[nvsmom]

I am a celiac and I do not always respond with obvious symptoms when I am glutened. In me, the symptoms often tend to build over time... usually.  The last time I am sure I ate gluten was last winter. I slowly started feeling poorly, worse and worse. It was not bad at first but then I had migraines and fatigue, and I started to get bloated again. I wasn't sure it was gluten at the time because the symptoms crept up on me. After a month or so I finally realized that I had bought fries that had wheat starch in/on them, and I was eating a few every week.

 

Over Christmas, I might have had some gluten too because I have the migraine and bloating again, but then again it could be too much sugar and treats... I'm honestly not sure.

 

In the past I have had very obvious episodes of a glutening too, but it's not every time as I already said. Beer gave me the most obvious bloating and wheat products consistently gave me stomach pain if I ate them in the morning on an empty stomach, but that could have changed. Those reactions were when I was eating gluten regularly and had a fair bit of inflammation because of it. Now, I never eat gluten so my reactions may be starting from a point of greater health so they don't feel as extreme.

 

It sounds like you did have symptoms of gluten intolerance, whether it is non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGI) or celiac disease will make no difference to the symptoms - the only real difference is NCGI does not create villi blunting. Both create a great deal of inflammation which creates a hot mess in people over time... If you are NCGI or have celiac, be careful, chances are you'll begin to get symptoms as time goes by.

 

Best wishes.